For example, ,one habit that never was directly communicated was the fact that the turnover between shifts on this particular ward starts earlier than regular shift hours which we were given at school - and arriving just on time was rewarded with a rather blunt and unfriendly comment about 'being late'. And many other things. Each individual one of them being small, but in the sum total very difficult to deal with. A number of people seem to be ok and I have the impression that I can deal with them. I think I have even gained one person's respect simply by telling her that I am not afraid of her, she seems to pride herself on being harsh and difficult to deal with for the nursing students. But two people are simply ill-mannered and my current position as a nursing student (i.e. 'subordinate' to them) makes it impossible to tell them to shut up their fould mouths and start behaving, which I would like to do and certainly would if I were facing them on the same professional level. Rather tricky! I have two more weeks on that ward before going back to school.
The habit of starting turn-over ahead of time so far usually lead to the situation that I had been getting out pretty punctually on time, sometimes even ahead of time. On Friday, I was hoping that would be true as well because I really needed to get going as I was headed for teaching a class on the weekend. As it happens, when you want that, something comes along to prevent it. An emergency happened on the ward just before turn-over, including a rather life-threatening situation, everybody's nerves were blank, one of the two ill-behaved brats I have mentioned came for the late shift, a few harsh words from her... I got out late and still had to pick up two people to take with me before we really could get going... but luckily we did get to the teaching place on time, at least traffic was not as chaotic as it could have been on a Friday afternoon. (I learned from this that I will be more careful, should I have a teaching opportunity to make sure that there is no early shift on that day I have to leave, certainly a way to reduce stress. Some things are learned the hard way.)
The workshop at my favorite teaching place, Petersberg Catholic Community College, where I have been going to teach for 14 years now, was nice and relaxing and a good way to end that week. The women who come to this workshop are a pretty regular group by now, with minor changes, and the teaching for me is more like a bit of mentoring. I am there to help them when problems arise or when they have questions, but it is not a 'work-teach'-situation for me. I get to do some stitching myself because most of them are so self-contained that once they have been set on their way they will work independently for a while before they will need me in any way.
So I got to play with the new set of templates I ordered from Denyse Schmidt and do a bit more fabric and scrap fondling besides teaching about curves, free-hand cutting and how to sew a curved seam.
But the most fun part about it all was that Lisa, a now 17-year-old girl, who has been coming to this workshop with her mother for six years now, and who is an avid maker of little bags and pouches and purses has infected almost everybody in the room and started a kind of side-programme teaching how to sew little bags.
She is growing up, and she is doing a good job in becoming a teacher for textiles and creative things. It will be interesting to see where she goes after she finishes school next year.
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